Eye of the Beholder
by FreakLove713
Summary: After Season 2, White starts having visions and sees one of the dreams closest to his heart come true...but why does he stop it from happening? MW
1. Chapter 1 Last Breath

It had been six months since those freaks had barricaded themselves inside the toxic dump known as Terminal City. What a joke! Six months of the National Guard and Seattle Police Department being too scared to do anything other than sit on their fat, Ordinary asses and eat doughnuts they dunked in their coffee. And they didn't even have the brainpower needed to dunk right! Every time he took the time to notice their doughnuts were inevitably disintegrating and turning their coffee into mushy sludge.

Six months and he still hadn't been able to get around the patrols to capture, or preferably kill, 452. And even if he did manage to get past the Ordinary's front line, what would be the point – Damn her for being so well insulated! Why couldn't she be like rest of the trannie freaks – easy to capture, easier to kill? When he got his hands on her, he knew exactly what he was going to do … and he was going to enjoy watching as he squeezed out her last breath with his own bare hands.

Knock, knock. "Sir, the meeting? Everyone's waiting for you …"

"Well, Otto, they're going to have to wait a little bit longer now aren't they," Ames White said patronizingly. "Cause I'm not ready yet!" And with that he slammed his fist into his desk, creating tiny hairline fractures. _Damn it, I'm going to have to replace this one too._

"But sir …"

"Otto, what did I say? Or do I need to repeat myself?"

"No sir. 10 minutes, sir. We'll be waiting."

The sound of Otto Gottlieb gently closing the door and then scurrying away like a scared rabbit made White smile. _I'm going to miss that reaction when I leave this crap job for my proper place in the Conclave._ With a slight smirk, he reached into his desk drawer and began assembling the gun he kept there. _Another day, another dead freak. _

As he stood up to place the gun in his ankle holster, White felt the room spin a little. _What is wrong with me? I've got thousands of years of selective breeding in my genes, I don't get dizzy!_ With that, the room began to tilt and quickly faded to black.

As White opened his eyes he realized he was no longer in his office. And he wasn't lying on the ground as he thought he would be when he came to. He was standing on a rooftop across an alleyway from Terminal City. It was a lightly patrolled area at the back of the perimeter, which is probably why there didn't seem to be any sort of response to the fight that was occurring exactly within the freaks' city limits. _I wonder how those crazed militants finally got in, and just which transgenic idiot managed to get themselves caught by a bunch of ordinaries. Hell, this show may even be worth paying for … _

After he had taken a few moments to enjoy the pure brutality of the spectacle in front of him, White started to focus in on the freak that was getting the hell beat out of it. He could almost feel the electricity when he recognized the hair, the face, the slim body … it was 452. His eyes opened wider to try to take it all in and a satisfied smirk settled over his features. But he had fought 452, how were four Ordinaries taking her down? At that moment one of the attackers spun around and he saw it was 494. Along with, on actual examination of the scene, what appeared to be that walking, talking, fighting lizard-thing, a lumpy albino and … _that couldn't be_ … the annoying Ordinary who had alerted 452 to his snipers so many months ago.

As the spark of recognition faded, White noticed that something else was wrong with this scene. Not only were 452's "friends" attacking her, but her fighting was off … and no, he couldn't even hear her usual animalistic grunts and the sarcastic remarks that she was so proud of. _Well, I guess it doesn't really matter. As long as the bitch goes down, who cares who did it. Although, I really wanted to be the one who ended it … I suppose being the lone spectator as her life falls apart is good enough. _And then he heard her whisper, "Why?" _Whisper? That can't be right. It should be a scream, and I'm too far away to hear her whisper, even with my Familiar-bred hearing. _None the less the whispered voice continued – and unfortunately he'd been in her company too often to not recognize it as her voice – "What did I do wrong? How come I can't fight back? Who are these people? They aren't who they used to be. What happened to my friends? They're all moving so fast – even Logan. I can't hold out much longer. This is the end. I'm going to die here." And at that White saw the tears streaming down her face, as the lizard-thing kicked her to the ground, tied her hands behind her back and lifted her up as if she were a sack of flour. He could see the others' mouths moving, but even when he strained his ears, White couldn't hear what they were saying. And 452's incessant thoughts – well that had to be what they were because her lips weren't moving – were still filling his head. As the freaks forced her onto her knees, 452's eyes locked with White's and he heard her say, "Save me. Please. Save me, and save the world." And that was it -- silence. The bullet had hit her directly between the eyes and the blood was pooling on the pavement beneath her body.

_Save her? I don't think so. I should go down and congratulate the freaks that did this to her. Then I should kill them too. See how they like it._ And with that thought and the image of 452's attackers laughing and joking as they turned their backs on her body, White opened his eyes. And he was back … in his office. Sprawled on the ground, sure, but at least he was back to reality.

Knock, knock.

Before the door could even open the tiniest crack, White screamed, "Otto! What did I say? Ten minutes or I'll be there when I'm ready!"

Otto quickly mumbled, "Yes sir." And then went directly back to his desk to request another transfer to the East Coast division.

White quickly pulled himself off the floor and dusted off his suit. The black one – while one of many – was his favorite. _I can't believe that bitch got my suit dirty! But, how? _As he pondered this, White quickly got behind his computer and began typing furiously. _That couldn't have been a vision, could it? I'm not supposed to have those. The High Priestess is the only one that's supposed to have those. Unless this was a message from her. Maybe she wants me to be there to confirm 452's demise. But I've had one of her induced visions before – this wasn't the same. She wasn't even there with me! Could it just be my imagination? Impossible! That was pounded out of me during my fourth year at the Conclave's boarding school. Only innovation, not imagination. I must be going crazy. That's it! The bitch has finally cracked me … what am I talking about, no one can crack me. I'm Ames White – the first White, pure, perfect. Well, in case it was a vision, I should probably get over to that cesspool they call home. _Smirking,_ I can't wait to smell the blood from that bitch drying on the pavement. As long as I can bring back her body, the Conclave will have to keep their promises to me. That should do it. Now all I have to do is not look too eager._

Ring, ring, ring.

"What is it Otto?" he barks into the phone.

"Sir, not about the meeting, sir. It's one of your informants sir. Says he has a lead for you."

"Well then why am I still talking to you?"

"I don't know sir."

"Otto! Get off the freaking phone!"

"Yes sir."

On the line a voice says, "Agent White, Jake here."

"What have you got for me then?" _If these idiot Ordinaries weren't so, well, dumb, the screeners would recognize this as my voice being put through a modulator. Since I want to get out of the office without any hassles, it's great that they're so incompetent, but I really should think about getting some new agents. Hmmmm, maybe the Conclave could help …_

The voice on the line had droned on for a while, bringing White up-to-date with various situations … _lucky for me the Conclave sent me some new intel last night_ … and then brusquely finished by saying, "Situation J12, subject 452, immediate need to discuss in person, protocol seven." The line clicked dead, and White was already putting his overcoat on and grabbing his keys from his pocket.

As he walked out the door, Otto jumped to attention saying, "Sir, great. Glad you are ready for the meeting. We have some really pressing intel to go over …"

"Otto," White growled. "Does it look like I'm on my way into that conference room?" pointing directly over his right shoulder.

"Not exactly, sir, but I was hoping …"

"Otto, stop hoping and start thinking. An informant just called in, I have to go discuss a situation with 452. Protocol seven." And with that Agent White slammed out of the building, climbed into his car and sped off. If anyone had taken the time to study his face, they would have seen a look that was almost reminiscent of a kid going to a candy store … almost because, after all, this was Ames White. 

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A/N: Reviews are welcome and wanted! I'm thinking about turning this into a chapter fic, but I'm not going to unless someone will read it. Let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2 Slight Hitch

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews so far! Keep them coming. Since it looks like some people are interested, I decided to keep going with the story. Also any suggestions for upcoming chapters are definitely appreciated…

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White looked at his watch again. _Fifteen minutes! That bitch is going to die today, and she still has me waiting._ But seconds later he was smiling in anticipation as the sound of flesh hitting flesh reached him. They were close. _This is going to be one great day._

"Alec! Don't hurt Lil' Fella!"

Thump! The albino was thrown into a brick wall. And his body was quickly followed by the Ordinary's. They were finally in the clearing where it would all end. A satisfied smirk settled over White's lips. _It isn't even my birthday!_ As his eyes adjusted to the rapidity of the fight, White's smirk tightened. There weren't five of them…there were six. There was some freak fighting by 452's side. It was that overgrown basset hound – what did she call him? Joshua, maybe.

"Get outta here Lil' Fella. That's the plan."

"Screw the plan Joshua!" Max yelled between punches, "What the hell are you four doin'?"

The attackers stayed silent and focused – except for the occasional grunt – reminding White of those ridiculous slow motion fight scenes in action films that took themselves too seriously from before the Pulse.

_If that thing that's helping her doesn't go down soon, this is not going to end the way that I want it to. _As the thought crossed White's mind, Joshua took a hard kick directly to his chest and went sprawling. He got up, but White could see it was a struggle. _One more good hit like that and he'll be out for the count … And I'll be minutes closer to fulfilling my destiny._ Suddenly, 494 began an all-out assault on the creature. Even with Joshua's greater strength he couldn't hold out for long, Sandeman hadn't created him for fighting … no one really knew what he had been created for actually, except as an experiment, to see if it could be done.

Even as the dog-man fell to the ground – "Joshua! Noooo!" – 494's attention turned to 452. His mate, his friend and, now, his prey. Up until this point, she had been fighting them with everything that she had, but seeing the body of her friend on the ground seemed to change something. Instead of the increased fury White expected, 452 visibly slackened: Her arms hung limply at her sides, her fighting stance relaxed and emotions battled for dominance on her usually determined face.

The four freaks – _I don't care what anyone says. That Ordinary is a freak, maybe not genetically, but still._ – closed in around her. They began to circle her, taunting her.

"What's the matter, Maxie?" 494 laughed. "Don't want to play with the big boys anymore?"

"Sure am glad we got that virus-thing cleared up, or else I wouldn't be able to do this." Slap! The sound of Logan's palm colliding with 452s cheek echoed off the surrounding brick walls.

"You just couldn't go away could you? Couldn't leave us in peace. Had to bring your rag-tag army here. Destroy the peace we had for so long. I mean, it may be a toxic wasteland, but it was ours."

"Couldn't handle it, could you? Thought you had everything all figured out. But you didn't," mocked the lizard. "You're a failure. Poison. Not even worth the space you take up."

Then they began what White could only assume was their final assault. _452 is being tossed around like a rag doll. Wait … she's trying to fight back. She always does enjoy fighting a losing and pointless battle. She doesn't understand that it won't matter. _White's smile began to turn into a genuine grin as the fight progressed exactly as he remembered, except this time it was in surround sound. Every hit and kick was amplified. The grunts ricocheted off the brick walls, and he thought that it was the most beautiful music he had ever heard. _This is it. She's going down. _At that moment, 494 planted a powerful kick to the left side of 452s head and her body spun as it was driven toward the ground.

She wasn't getting up. She was trying but her body just wasn't cooperating. _The bitch is finally going to die._ As the albino moved to pick her up, White found himself moving closer to the edge of the roof. They were going to torture her a little more and he just wanted to get a closer look. But if that was really the case, why was he jumping down to the fire escape? He was surreptitiously moving closer and closer to the group of freaks. _What am I doing? They'll try to kill me too._ However his body kept moving. White tried to stop again and he couldn't, he was almost on the group of freaks and he had no idea what was going on. His body wasn't responding to his brain.

494 turned a steely gaze onto the intruder. "Well, well, well. I didn't realize we had an audience. Fellas, you all know Agent White."

"Can't believe we're doing your job for you. It wasn't that difficult," scoffed the Ordinary. At that they all turned their backs on White and closed the circle around 452.

Before anyone knew what was happening, White had pulled the albino out of the circle and begun attacking him. As the smallest of the freaks, he went down quickly – a few punches and he wasn't going to be waking up for at least a couple of hours.

"Looks like we're fighting for the privilege, fellas."

The lizard, 494 and the Ordinary circled White. The first to come at him was the lizard. A few well placed kicks and a punch to the nose had him seeing red. He lunged at White, but in his anger didn't see White shift his weight to the balls of his feet. White jumped over him, quickly spun and with a strong kick to the chest had him pinned to the wall. As the lizard tried to pull himself off, a well-placed right cross hit his head against the exposed steel support beam and he was out. The Ordinary was next, and he was far too easy for White. His body was moving as it never had before – his reactions were instantaneous and he was able to anticipate almost every hit that came towards him. Without even breaking a sweat, the Ordinary was down and White was brushing a piece of lint off of his shoulder.

He knew that 494 was going to be a challenge. He still didn't understand what was going on, but far be it for him to ignore his instincts. They had always served him well in the past, except when it came to 452. Thinking about her, White took 494 down quickly. It was almost as if he was meant to beat him. In the course of their fight, White only threw four punches, but they all seemed to hit the right places. As 494 shifted for his final assault, White glanced to where 452 was still struggling to right herself. While he was distracted, 494 landed his first and only punch of the fight, splitting White's lip. White immediately countered with a roundhouse kick to his head that had him sprawled on the ground and unconscious.

White calmly walked over to 452. She was on her knees when she looked up and realized who her "savior" was. "White," she said as she spit out the blood in her mouth. "What are you doin' here?" He slowly reached into his pocket as she began to rant. "What? You had to finish it yourself, didn't you? What did you do to them? They weren't acting like themselves all day, and then they attacked me. What's going on?" She stiffened and paused as White's hand emerged…with a white handkerchief. He wiped the blood away from his mouth as she went off again. "Alright, let's do this. You never could take me down by yourself. Guess your timing's just lucky. But I swear if I ever find out what you did to them…I'll kill you…again. I just can't believe…it all happened so suddenly…and then there you were…"

After White put his handkerchief away, he reached out his hand to steady 452. She was starting to cry but was still making a valiant effort to keep her rant up, convinced it was only moments until he pulled his gun and finished her off. As his hand reached her elbow, he said in a calm and steady voice, "It's okay, Max. I'm here." Surprised, her eyes quickly found his, looking for the disdain and disgust that usually resided there. All she saw was sincerity.

Between sobs, Max managed to get out, "What did you call…"

White tightened his grip on her arm and pulled her into him so her head was buried against his chest. "Shhhh. I've got you now, baby. No one will ever hurt you again." And he began stroking her hair.

_What the fuck is this?!?! Did I just call the freak by her name? And baby? This vision is messing with more than my workday…_Then a second voice started in White's head,_ Just shut up! Her hair is so soft, and she's not annoying you. Just relax into it, breathe her in. As much as you don't want to admit it, you're enjoying this._

The voice was right. She was incredibly soft, and she smelled like vanilla. She fit so perfectly against him that White began to relax. Suddenly he felt Max tense in his arms, and she looked up at him with questions in her eyes. As she took a deep breath, she pushed him away slightly and shakily asked, "What's goin' on?"

White shook his head quickly and replied, "I don't know. I just…I don't know."

"I'm okay now," she said, wiping the tears from her face. "Thanks," with a small smile pushing herself away from him completely. "What happens next?"

White tried to ignore the empty feeling that crept into his body, as he could no longer feel her against him. Hesitantly, he guided his hand to her elbow once more and began walking her to his car. As she walked past the bodies of each of her friends more tears threatened to fall. "They aren't…"

"No, they aren't dead. But I can guarantee that they'll be hurting when they wake up."

"I don't know what got into them. It just…all of a sudden…it happened. And then you were there…and…why were you there?"

"I'd rather not talk about it right now actually. Let's just get you to my place and…"

"Wait! You think I'm going anywhere with you _Agent_ White? They musta hit you pretty hard. No way I'm…"

"By all means, let's stand here and debate whether you can trust me. We can just waste time arguing until those _friends_ of yours wake up and try it again." Muttering, "Maybe this time I'll let them finish the job."

"I heard that you know! And that's exactly why I'm not goin' anywhere with you!"

White pushed her out of the way and stormed to the passenger side door, forcing it open so hard it's amazing the thing didn't fly off its hinges. "Just get in!!!!"

As she turned her back on him, she very firmly said, "No. No way."

Walking up to her and talking to her as if she was a small child, "Max…I saved your life. The life that your friends were trying to end. I think I've earned some trust here. Just get in the car, and we'll get you out of danger. They won't come looking for you if they think you're with me. I don't know what happened, but we'll figure it out." _It was so much easier when I just hated her! Stupid visions. And why am I still calling her Max?_

Sighing, "Aiight. You probably are right, but I want someone to watch my back."

Continuing to patronize her, "Of course, you just tell me who…"

"Original Cindy. We used to live together and she can always use a vacation from Jam Pony…although I don't know what she'll say when I show up with you."

As White guided her into the passenger seat and quickly went around to get into the driver's side, Max sighed again and looked behind her at the bodies of her friends. Her hand went up on the window as if to wave good-bye, but realizing who she was with she tried to shake herself out of it. And as the car pulled away, Max told White how to get to Original Cindy's place…

As silence settled over the car, both passengers thought, _And I thought my life was difficult before. _


End file.
